Found gown and tunic

Well, Roxanne and I finished a couple of found-fabric pieces today. It is satin-y fabric, slick and slippery. The colors we found were jewel tones of burgundy and royal blue. There was quite a bit of the burgundy and not much of the blue. At the beginning of the summer, we cut out many items, most of which have been sewn up, now, but there are still a few things in the basket.

The first item from the burgundy fabric was a nightgown for Roxanne. I had a piece of flat lace that we could use for an embellishment of the neckband, and we made a very simple, long gown with raglan sleeves, gathered into a neckband. The second was a tunic top. The bodice of the top is made of the blue, and the neckband and body of the tunic are out of the burgundy fabric. The tunic is sleeveless.

Both of these garments have neckbands, and the one for the tunic had a curving kind of key-hole shape. It was a challenge, but we got it put together. On the gown, instead of sewing the outer layer of the band on first, we sewed the inside layer on first, and then folded the outer layer down for the finishing seam. It worked well, to be able to finish that seam in that order, instead of the other way round, where if you sew on top, there are places that you miss underneath, and if you sew it inside, the thread isn't where you want it on the outside of the garment.

I got pictures of the gown, but when Roxanne tried on her tunic, we found it was too small around (so I didn't take her picture in it). Does that mean it isn't useful? NO WAY! We will probably work on some embroidered embellishment of the neckband, and then donate it to the women's shelter. I did get photos of the gown, front and back, modeled by Roxanne (Hi Roxanne!), who is very happy to have a new nightgown.

My Challenge

So, I finally figured out my personal, creative challenge. I've been looking for it. I've been hunting for it. I've been gazing longingly at the challenges of others. Of course my challenge was here all along, like they are. I just couldn't see it for the trees. Or maybe the sewing...

So, what is my challenge? To make something useful from found fabric. Yeah, you already know this if you read my other blog. Still... challenge, meet blog readers, blog readers, meet challenge. Now, play nice.

For this entry, I'm going to talk about something I've already made that fits into the found fabric challenge. See, I told you it is something that I was doing anyway, but not keeping a record of. Now, I'm gonna.

My first found fabrics were some knits that I inherited from my mom. She had gotten the piece I used to make sheets, or maybe curtains for our travel trailer, which isn't around any more, either. I looked and looked for a lightweight cotton knit sleep shirt this summer, and finally made one. Roxanne (in case you don't know, Roxanne is my cousin, and we sew together about once a week, and we both love it!) and I also used the various knits from this stash to make her a gown, to make her grandson some pajamas, and to make t-shirts for her grandson and her 4 nephews.

I'll see about adding photos of some of those other things as I can. My sleep shirt - with matching shorts for lounging - is a light, minty green with dots and flowers. Just perfect for sleeping through. And, yes, my lovely model is better known as an office chair.